Protection
by Miss I-Like-Too-Many-Fandoms
Summary: Harmonic Convergence and all the damage it dealt is catching up with Korra, in her dreams. Asami, of course, is there to comfort her girlfriend.


**Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra belong to Nickelodeon and Mike and Bryan. **

It wouldn't stop. Aang. Roku. Kyoshi. Kuruk. Yangchen, Water. Earth. Fire. Air. A cycle going back into forever, a never-ending circle. Then Wan. All breaking into golden light. Gone. It was a mover on repeat, but in color. She was frozen, weak. They were gone. All of them. She was alone. The darkness was all consuming, but not silent.

"You have failed, Avatar Korra." It was Raava. She had failed the world and her very own soul. She was thrashing against the dark, fighting her failure, the end of everything. Her throat ached from screaming. Her entire body was raw, as if she had been flayed open. They kept disappearing and disappearing. Golden sparks all that remained of hundreds, of thousands of people, of heroes. They were her and she was them and it _hurt_, it hurt so much. As the endless torture returned to its beginning; it changed. It wasn't Aang, it was Tenzin. Then Jinora. Ikki. Meelo. Pema. Lin. Mako. Bolin. Her parents. Katara. Finally, Asami.

"Korra."

The darkness pressed ever closer. She was in flames. Her bones were dust. The world would forever be dark. The Avatar was gone and she had been the one to end it all.

"Korra!"

She was nothing but the last Avatar. She was the end. She had managed to accomplish what no other Avatar before her could, not even on their worst day.

"KORRA!" The most powerful being on the planet awoke, drenched in sweat and shaking. Asami was straddling her, both still nude from their earlier activities.

"I…wh-what?" Asami nearly collapsed in relief, running soothing hands through her girlfriend's disheveled hair.

"You were having a nightmare. You were…screaming and…thrashing." As Asami looked away, Korra jerked up, awakening fully as she took sight of her face. A large red mark stained the pale skin, visible even in the dim light being given off by the illuminated clock on Asami's nightstand. The Avatar swallowed, the movement obvious. She reached out a hand slowly, her fingers brushing Asami's cheek. Korra winced as her fingers lined up with the angry mark.

"Asami…I-" The heiress covered Korra's hand with her own, smiling gently.

"Korra, it's alright. I don't even think it'll bruise." She was lying of course, but she knew make up could cover it. Korra did not need this guilt, not over an accident. "What's more important is you right now. Are you alright?" Before she could manage words, the Avatar broke, throwing herself into her girlfriend's arms as she sobbed violently into her chest, her arms encircling her slender form like a vise. Asami gasped at the initial contact, shocked, before relaxing and holding the waterbender to her. There were no words for what all the duo had suffered, but Asami knew that Korra had suffered much, much worse and she didn't even know the half of it.

Unsurprisingly, the Water Tribe teen calmed down quickly, unwilling to appear weak, even to her girlfriend. She did not remove herself from Asami's hold however, only pulling back enough to be able to speak with her face to face. Her face was now a pair to Asami's, blotched red and stained with tears. There was no preamble to Korra's explanation.

"It was the past lives again. Dying over and over again. Then it changed. Everyone I loved broke into golden light. Tenzin. Katara. You. And I could feel it. The pain. I've never been so scared before, Asami. I can still feel them, my past lives, but they're not here. I…I just don't know anymore. White Lotus guards who have lost arms or legs used to talk about feeling them like they were still there, still hurting, but this is different. It's like I'm the one dying. Like I'm the one bursting into light." Korra let out a deep breath as she finished, as if she had been holding it in.

"Is there anything I can do?" Asami's face fell as the Avatar shook her head. "I'm so sorry, Korra. I can't even begin to imagine…" The heiress had never felt so helpless, not even when her father had been locked away.

"Just hold me, Asami." How could she refuse? She turned and laid back against the pillows, bringing Korra with her, their legs intertwined. The waterbender settled with her head on Asami's chest, an arm tight around her waist. Her tense shoulders began to visibly relax as the pale teen began to run her fingers through her hair, loosening the knots caused from sweat and writhing on the bed. "I'm really sorry you have to deal with this. And hitting you." Korra's voice deepened on her last few words, the shame thick in her throat.

"That's what I'm here for, not the hitting just the rest of it." Asami smiled at the Avatar's weak chuckle. "I love you, Korra." Korra's face broke out into a huge grin as she turned to look up at her girlfriend.

"I love you, too." She leaned up, pressing their lips together. As Asami pulled away, Korra rose up, quickly moving to straddle the raven haired teen, still seeking her lips. The heiress refused to give in however, avoiding the Avatar's persistent lips and placing a hand below Korra's throat to hold her off.

"Korra…"

"Asamiiiiiiiiiiii."

"Must you?"

"Yes."

"Don't."

"Asamiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii."

"This is such a turn off."

"Asamiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii."

"We're definitely, without a doubt not having sex now." Korra's pout had no effect on Asami.

"We're both awake. Why not?"

"Are you saying the only thing we should do when we're awake is have sex?"

"Yes?" Asami's glare sent the Avatar shrinking away in fear. After staring her girlfriend down with one arched brow, the heiress rolled her hips, depositing Korra on the floor while she snuggled comfortably into the sheets. "Hey!" A smirk was the only response Korra received. "Meanie." This time a shrug. The waterbender gave a tremendous sigh before peeling herself off of the floor and leaping over Asami to settle onto the other side of the bed, nearly causing the elder teen to be launched off of the bed. This earned Korra another signature glare which eased slightly as the Avatar smiled sheepishly before wrapping her limbs about the pale teen.

"Behave." Asami maintained her stern expression for a beat before finally relaxing fully into Korra's burly frame. Korra peppered kisses along every inch of skin she could reach, muffled giggles and swats were her reward. Soon enough the weight of the night and all it had entailed settled upon them, lessening the Avatar's attempts to seduce her girlfriend and closing the couple's eyes, still tired from tears.

"Protect me, Asami." The words were weak and spoken half-awake, but the raven haired teen heard and tightened their embrace.

"Always." They were asleep as the word ended on Asami's lips. Though their rest was short-lived, it was peaceful. Asami fought the Avatar's demons while her own began to fade away.


End file.
